Facebook friends will soon be able to use the social network’s private message window to send each other cash as easily as they send photos.

That’s according to iOS developer Andrew Aude, who revealed to Tech Crunch he had uncovered the feature by using the hacking tool Cycript. Aude also took to Twitter on Saturday to post screenshots of the app.

Should the feature launch as described, users will be able to make payments by simply hitting a button, entering the amount they wish to transfer and clicking ‘send’. While compatible with debit cards, payments won’t be possible with credit cards or directly from bank accounts. Whether or not users will have to pay a fee to use the service is not yet known.

Rollout of the feature may explain Facebook’s decision to hire David Marcus, PayPal’s former head of mobile payments. Marcus left the e-commerce giant in June to take up his new role as Facebook’s vice-president of messaging products. Upon the announcement, the company praised his “track record of building great products and finding creative ways to turn them into great businesses”.

Facebook has yet to comment on the app but Aude believes it might be rolled out in the next few months.

The news follows last week’s reports that Facebook will begin letting users add information about their health to their profiles to help create online communities that support sufferers of various ailments. Meetings with medical industry experts have reportedly taken place and the company is in the process of establishing a research and development team to work on new health apps.